Homemade Sausage Patties for Breakfast and Brunch

Serve these easy, do-it-yourself pork sausage patties for breakfast, dinner or at your next brunch. The basic seasonings in these skillet sausages mimics the flavor of traditional patties, but you can customize them with any favorite blend of spices, herbs and seasonings. Maybe you’d like them with all Italian-style seasonings. Or Cajun, Moroccan or Latino with chili peppers, cumin and lime zest. Or smoky with chipotle chili pepper or smoked paprika. You can even add a little finely chopped apple or bell pepper.

Nutrition perks include plenty of filling protein from the lean pork, along with B-vitamins and potassium. Even better, these homemade patties mean less sodium than store-bought versions, because you get to control the sodium.

Make homemade sausage patties when you want to customize the seasonings, keep tabs on the sodium and dazzle your brunch guests.

Author: Kim Galeaz, RDN CD

Recipe type: breakfast, dinner, brunch

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 patties

Ingredients

¾ teaspoon fennel seeds, skillet toasted, then crushed

¾ teaspoon ground sage

½ teaspoon crushed thyme

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper

¾ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1 pound lean ground pork

Instructions

Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and cook, stirring or shaking constantly, until seeds are fragrant and toasted, about 3-4 minutes.

Crush seeds with mortar and pestle.

In a small bowl, whisk crushed fennel with remaining nine seasonings until thoroughly combined. In a large bowl, combine ground pork with spice mixture, blending with wooden spoon or hands. (Avoid over-working mixture as patties will be tough.)

Shape into 8 patties, 3-inches in diameter.

Heat an extra-large skillet (12-inch) over medium heat until hot. Add patties and cook until patties reach 160°F in the center, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Serve immediately.

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No mortar and pestle to crush those fennel seeds? No worries. Just put the seeds in a zippered plastic bag and pound with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin. Toasting those before crushing really brings out their flavor, so don’t skip that step!